She wound the long braids of her hair into the flat irregular
cone above the nape of the neck which gives such grace to certain
antique statues by an artistic elongation of the head, while a few
stray locks escaping from her forehead fell in shining curls beside
her cheeks. With a form and head thus dressed, she presented a perfect
likeness of the noble masterpieces of Greek sculpture. She smiled as
she looked with approval at the arrangement of her hair, which brought
out the beauties of her face, while the scarlet berries of the holly
wreath which she laid upon it repeated charmingly the color of the
peplum. As she twisted and turned a few leaves, to give capricious
diversity to their arrangement, she examined her whole costume in a
mirror to judge of its general effect.
"I am horrible to-night," she said, as though she were surrounded by
flatterers. "I look like a statue of Liberty."
She placed the dagger carefully in her bosom leaving the rubies in the
hilt exposed, their ruddy reflections attracting the eye to the hidden
beauties of her shape. Francine could not bring herself to leave her
mistress. When Marie was ready she made various pretexts to follow
her. She must help her to take off her mantle, and the overshoes which
the mud and muck in the streets compelled her to wear (though the
roads had been sanded for this occasion); also the gauze veil which
Mademoiselle de Verneuil had thrown over her head to conceal her
features from the Chouans who were collecting in the streets to watch
the company.
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